Friday, March 18

Friday, March 18

I have left my traveling partner, Heather, for a solo venture to Mysore (where I am now writing this). I have watched and learned much from this veteran India traveler and feel I am now prepared to go it alone. My friend Jonathan Patriarca from San Diego is in Mysore teaching at his Bheemashakti yoga center until the first of April. My plans are to stay in Mysore and visit with Jonathan until the 22nd of March. Heather is going back to the ashram for the next three days and then head into Trivandrum to meet the next three members of the second half of our India experience. She'll then return to the ashram with the three in tow for another three days. Heather is happiest at the ashram. Jen headed back home to San Diego today with a carry on full of mine and Heather's India souvenirs. Thanks Jen for lightening my load these final couple of weeks.

The ride from the hotel to the airport was a harrowing ride with this very young taxi driver. Fortunately the street were pretty deserted at 06:30 am but there were times he must have hit 50 mph on streets sparsely lined with people, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, dogs, and a few goats (of course he was dialing and talking on his cell phone). I have learned it does no good to tell them to slow down that you're not in a hurry. It's in their DNA to haul ass and pass everyone ahead of them. I just sat there with no seat belt and knew he would deliver me safely to the airport.

At the airport this morning the Trivandrum I met this young lady from Berlin. She had been in India for four months and was returning home. She told me she had only planned to stay at the Sivananda Ashram for a few days but ended up staying there long enough to complete their Yoga Teacher Training program. She had never practiced yoga before she came to the ashram. How these past four months have changed this young lady forever. She hopes to start teaching yoga and hopefully one day open her own studio.

The Royal Orchid Metropole is an 120 year old colonial structure that was built by the Maharaja of Mysore to entertain foreign guests. I feel like Ernest Hemingway looking out over the courtyard between the two wings of the building. There are rattan chairs and wooden tables sitting on the brick patio, a huge mango tree that extends over the second story and the Indian staff dressed in their black pants, white collarless shirts, and purple aprons with arms folded behind them waiting for me to glance their way to provide me with immediate service. I doubt Mr. Hemingway was using an iPad and a wireless keyboard but I'm sure he would have had they been available. I've been sitting here catching up on my writing for the past couple of hours and enjoying what is some delightfully enjoyable weather. It must be ten degrees cooler here and the humidity is much lower as I've gotten farther inland away from the sea. It will be a nice recharge for my system until I return for the final two weeks in the oven of India.

I've gotten pretty good at washing my clothes in the sink of every hotel from Trivandrum to Mumbai. But the hand washing with bar soap hasn't really gotten the clothes clean or the odors removed. At present, have three shirts and two pair of pants. Two of my shirts and the other pair of pants are getting a proper washing from the hotels laundry services, which means I'll be wearing my remaining pants and shirt all of today and tomorrow. Socks and underwear can be easily washed in the sink. Actually, it's been too hot to wear either of these items so they've stayed pretty clean in my backpack. TMI.

I just ordered my first beer in three weeks. They've had Kingfisher beer at most of the places we've been but I hear they put glycerin in it and Heather says they put formaldehyde in it so I've avoided it. The only other beer they have is Budweiser so what the hell. Budweiser delivered and it tastes pretty good.